> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.the-race.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Is Alonso's harsh F1 driver claim justified? - URL: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/is-alonsos-brutal-f1-driver-claim-justified/ - Published: 2026-10-27T10:51:12.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-27T11:07:51.000Z - Description: Assessing the merits of Fernando Alonso's claim that a third of Formula 1’s grid is “very low” quality - Author: Josh Suttill - Tags: Formula 1, #united-states-grand-prix, #fernando-alonso, #alex-albon, #secondary_feature_1 A third of Formula 1's grid is "very low" in quality. That was the charge Fernando Alonso levelled at some of his rivals after one of them wrecked his United States Grand Prix. Alonso repeated similar claims to the broadcast and written media to make his message clear. He was calm and deliberate in his delivery rather than emotional. And Alonso is rarely one to waste his words, so this wasn't a throwaway remark, even if it's one that he might end up walking back on Thursday in Mexico. But is it at all justified, who is he referring to and what's really behind it? ## Lost points finish? Alonso is primarily frustrated because he believes he was robbed of a points finish by Alex Albon clattering into him at the Turn 11 left-hander and destroying half of the Aston Martin’s floor. > Así quedó el coche de [@alo\_oficial](https://x.com/alo%5Foficial?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=the-race.com) tras ser golpeado por Albon en la 1ª vuelta… Para faltarle medio suelo, deflectores y bargeboards varios el ritmo fue (como mínimo) “sorprendente”🙌[#AustinGP](https://x.com/hashtag/AustinGP?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=the-race.com)🇺🇸 [pic.twitter.com/Ny3GAHsMdI](https://t.co/Ny3GAHsMdI?ref=the-race.com) > > — Pedro de la Rosa (@PedrodelaRosa1) [October 26, 2026](https://x.com/PedrodelaRosa1/status/2114797817445183725?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=the-race.com) It was an incident-packed race: Ollie Bearman clobbered Pierre Gasly's Alpine, Franco Colapinto - who took out two cars in Baku - spun himself off the back of Arvid Lindblad, who also had a lairy moment with Carlos Sainz off the start line that Sainz couldn't believe didn't merit a penalty. Alonso says the damage to his own car cost him "half a second or more" per lap, and he was baffled how he'd been able to finish the race when he saw the extent of the damage when he jumped out of the Aston Martin in parc ferme. He thinks he could have been ninth or 10th on merit without the damage and rated this as "by far" his best performance of the season. It's doubly frustrating for Alonso to walk away with nothing when this could have been a rare highlight in an otherwise miserable year. We've seen him retire from races even when Aston Martin-Honda [can’t find an issue](https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/strange-fernando-alonso-subplot-aston-martin-weird-f1-form/) and he's now turned his attention to other drivers stuck in suboptimal machinery. ## The 'very low' quality drivers With his 'very low' driver quality claim, we can assume Alonso has around seven drivers in mind if it's a third of the 22-driver grid, including Albon. The stewards deemed this to be a racing incident as Alonso was also making a move on Esteban Ocon's Haas when Albon had already committed to trying to overtake Alonso, so predictably three cars into one corner ended badly. Albon's 2026 season has probably been his weakest as a Williams driver, but he's still performing well above 'very low' quality and was one of the standout midfield drivers for much of 2022-25\. Alonso's Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll is presumably ruled out on the basis that Alonso labelled him as a [potential world champion](https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/alonso-tips-stroll-as-future-f1-champion-and-pledges-to-help/%C2%A0) just three years ago. Axed [Haas driver Ocon](https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/all-the-reasons-the-ocon-haas-relationship-fell-apart/) and [under-pressure Valtteri Bottas](https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/herta-could-replace-bottas-at-cadillac-in-f1-2027/) could also be candidates, but both are proven grand prix winners, with Ocon one of Alonso's more competitive team-mates, and Bottas someone who took 10 race wins as Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate. Colapinto's Austin weekend was poor, but he was competing with Lando Norris to be the standout driver of the weekend in Madrid. Rookie Lindblad has had more Q3 appearances than any other driver outside the top four teams, and last-in-the-standings Sergio Perez has firmly been the stronger Cadillac driver and rebuilt his reputation after a bruising final year with Red Bull. So there are very few signs of any 'very low' quality on the grid, meaning Alonso’s claim falls completely flat against even the briefest scrutiny. In fact, the quality of F1’s grid has arguably never been higher than in 2026\. It’s a stark contrast to a good portion of the grid not so long ago being made up of drivers who primarily earned their seats through financial backing. There is a higher frequency of incidents in the lower third of the grid, but that’s because drivers are more bunched up on opening laps and needing to scrap hard to get anywhere near the points, when, barring disaster, the top four teams have the first eight positions on lock. It was the exact reason Bearman cited for why he went for the ambitious move on Gasly, and it’s the same reason Sainz has had a string of incidents with Williams - having had very few in four years at Ferrari - because he’s having to fight hard to get anything out of a poor car. Fernando Alonso doesn’t deserve to be back of the grid, scrapping for the odd point, but neither does Carlos Sainz or Franco Colapinto or Sergio Perez. Or really any of the drivers on the grid, who have all proven, on their day, they can be the best. Look at Sainz’s Ferrari wins, Lance Stroll’s pole position in tricky Istanbul conditions, Perez’s Max Verstappen-beating weekends at Red Bull, or how Ocon converted his against-the-odds Hungary victory (with Alonso's help!). So it’s hard to see this remark as anything more than emblematic of how frustrated Alonso has become that he’s still languishing nowhere near where his talent deserves to be. It’s why he’s understandably so keen for Aston Martin Honda to haul him out of the lower third of the grid, where, even with talented drivers, you’re always more likely to end race empty-handed, half your floor missing or not.